Passenger vehicles are nowadays typically moved by drivers who attempt to take into account and coordinate all influences on the road and influences from other vehicles by acting and reacting. This process requires the full attention of the driver. This is a great challenge, as proved by the number of accidents. In the meantime, autonomously driving vehicles and driver assistance systems which support driving safety have been developed. Examples of these are lane keeping assistance systems (lane keeping assistant), a lane change assistant, a blind spot assistant (blind spot support), a braking assistant (active city stop) and further systems.
Hitherto, there has been no assistance system which reacts to pedestrians or cyclists who are in danger of being put at risk by the vehicle. The document US 2007/0067081 A1 discloses a device for avoiding traffic accidents in which at least one motorized vehicle is involved. In this case, the vehicle comprises an apparatus for detecting the presence of another road user in the immediate vicinity of the side of the vehicle with the aid of distance sensors which are fitted to the side of the vehicle. Provision is also made of acoustic sensors, for example microphones, which are fastened to a side of a trailer in order to make warning cries from other road users, for example, audible to the driver.
The document U.S. Pat. No. 7,876,645 B2 discloses a system and a method for detecting obstacles for vehicles. The document U.S. Pat. No. 6,100,796 likewise relates to an obstacle detection system in a motor vehicle. The document U.S. Pat. No. 7,868,748 B2 discloses a collision detection sensor for a vehicle.